Category: clutter clearing

Are you feeling it yet? The enlivening energy of spring makes way for the new to come into your life. Be ready! The full moon this weekend signals a particularly good time to clean and clear out clutter in your home (and in your life). As the chart below indicates, the time immediately following the full moon is about releasing, letting go and gives an extra energetic push behind clearing clutter and spring cleaning in preparation for the new beginnings of the new moon. Need a little more inspiration? Check out this clutter clearing post! xo

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Ok, so you feel really great about clearing out your clutter and want to keep it that way, right? If you don’t change a few key habits, you might find yourself back in the exact same cluttered place. Don’t let this happen to you!

One: Stop the retail ‘therapy’!There is a psychology to purchasing – when you feel down or unbalanced and go shopping to make yourself feel better, you end up choosing things that are not really you and will not feel good to you once you are feeling better. This is where we tend to impulse shop, overspend and regret our purchases. Replace retail therapy with a healthier alternative; go for a walk in nature, exercise, talk with a friend, read a good book…you get the picture. Changing this habit will stop bad purchases from becoming future clutter.

Two: Be thoughtful about everything that comes into your home.Yes, EVERYTHING! From junk mail to gifts, know that everything that comes into your home affects your energy in some way, so choose a positive influence. Get in the habit of asking yourself how something makes you feel and if has negative feelings around it, let it go immediately! Don’t put it somewhere to ‘decide later’, just let it go now.

Three: Be grateful for the things you have.
I have a small newspaper clipping in the bottom of my Christmas ornament box that I ‘find’ every year that says to be grateful for what I already have. To want what you already have is liberating! Being grateful in the context of clutter clearing simply means honouring what you have by keeping it clean, in good repair and ensuring it has a place. Organizing your belongings and tidying up each day will help to keep the peaceful atmosphere you’ve created.

This was meant to be the last installment of my clutter clearing series – but who I am I kidding, clutter clearing is never completely finished. As we grow and evolve, so should our living spaces. We will need to keep at it so our homes support our newest dreams, adventures and the lives we want to lead.

Here are a few of my favourite books on organizing and clearing clutter to keep you inspired! xo

So you’ve cleared a lot of your clutter and are expecting to feel what I’d promised – light, spacious, full of possibility…and what you’re really feeling is anxiety about all of the empty space. Don’t worry! If you are used to being surrounded with lots of stuff, empty space can feel a bit uncomfortable, or even downright scary. You have two choices here 1) fill it with other stuff as quickly as possible or 2) sit with the emptiness a while, let it become your new normal. You already know where I stand on this. Relax. Breathe. And learn to find comfort in the empty space. Change can take a bit of getting used to, give it time. See the empty space as potential, as possibility, as open and wide as the sky. xo

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A big question that may come up for you when clearing clutter is: “What will I do with the items I no longer want?” You might feel it’s important to ensure that items, especially sentimental ones, go to a good home and that, as much as possible, items are kept out of our landfills. I hope the following resource list will be helpful to my fellow Londoners when you get to this stage of your clearing. Non-Londoners note: many of the sources are provincial or have locations in other areas (click on the links to find a location in your city). Here is a link to a downloadable version.

Helpful tip: Add your name to a regular call list with the Canadian Diabetes or Cerebral Palsy Associations. Their calls provide strong motivation and a helpful prompt to have a box ready for donation every month or two. Keep at it, you got this! xo

Donate Household Items

Who

What / Cost

Where

Canadian Diabetes Association

Free pick up of clothing, linens, toys, dishes, household items and small appliances.

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If you have been procrastinating tackling your clutter, wait no longer. The stars are especially aligned to support shedding activities over the next few weeks. You may also feel like I do, that September is a chance to start over. A new year, with new beginnings. So let’s make room for the new by clearing out the old. It’s not just physical clutter, it’s also the emotional and energetic stagnation that is attracted to the clutter that needs to shift. And it will shift. There is a lightness that comes from letting go. A sense of breathing a bit easier, of spaciousness, and what I can only describe as a sparkle. And who doesn’t love a bit of sparkle?

There is much information and many books written on the subject of clutter clearing. One of my favourite authors on the subject is Karen Kingston (I will be studying with her this fall!), author of Creating Sacred Space with Feng Shui and Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui. Check out her website here for lots of great tips.

Some experts say tackle it all at once, some advise one small area at a time and whether you find joy in each item you own (and keep) or choose to eliminate it all and start over, the process may be different but the end result is the same. A shift to a more conscious space. A lighter, fresher home, full of possibility and promise.

No matter how you tackle it, to me it boils down to this bit of wisdom.

During the next three weeks as you move through your own clutter clearing, I am happy to answer questions and help you get through moments where you might feel a little stuck. Send your questions via the comments below or a private note to me on the services page.

To get us started here are my top five FAQ’s regarding clutter:

What if someone I love gave it to me? Oh, the guilt gift, we all know this one. We don’t really like it but we hold onto it for fear of insulting the giver. Look at it this way, every time you look at the item or even think of the item, it is depleting your energy. Lighten up and give it to someone who will appreciate the item. As for the giver, their intention was not to give you a gift that would bring you down, right? (and if that was their intent then you need to let go of more than just the item…just sayin’). Seriously, once the gift was given, it is yours to do with as you wish.

I’m so overwhelmed, where do I start? I would say start with one room and set aside enough time to go through it start to finish. Start with closets or cupboards. Pull everything out, make the decision to keep, donate or throw away each item. Be sure to give both the room and each item a cleaning before putting it away. Return all items that belong in other rooms. And get the donation and garbage piles packed and out of the house right away.

What do you mean by energetic cleaning? Lower frequency energies are attracted to clutter and create a heavy, dull feeling. By physically moving items, and getting rid of items that are personally heavy for you, the energy in your space will shift to a higher frequency, which feels light. In addition to clutter clearing, there are many ways to consciously raise the energy levels in your home, such as; a good vacuum cleaning, burning sage, using sound (bells, clapping, drumming) or having a professional energy worker clear your home.

What if it’s not my clutter but belongs to someone I live with? This is a tougher one. There are reasons why each of us hold onto things. If that person is not ready to let go, they will quite quickly replace the clutter you have cleared. The best way is to focus on your own things and spaces. The shift will benefit the other and hopefully inspire them to do some clutter clearing of their own. If it’s a child, teach them to regularly go through their belongings and make decisions to pass along toys and clothes they no longer need or use.

Is there really a connection between my outer world and inner world? YES! One reflects the other. Are you disorganized? Are your thoughts? Is your house drowning in stuff? Are you feeling heavy, overweight, depressed? Are their untended repairs in your home? What part of you are you neglecting to nurture? There is a definite connection between your physical space and your inner being. The saying “Cleanliness is next to Godliness” is true. In the sense that you need to be clean (clear) to access the divine spark within you. Creating a nourishing, conscious space, free from clutter will help you connect with your own truth, your deepest desires and your ability to see the opportunities all around you.

Obviously, I believe that clearing clutter is incredibly powerful. I also believe it can help you to shift in other areas of your life through the simple act of letting go. Try it for yourself! I challenge you to clear your clutter. Roll up your sleeves and get to it! Imagine me in the background cheering you on…you got this! If it’s too hard to do on your own, enlist the help of a friend who is kind and able to be objective. Once your clutter is gone, pay attention to how you feel and how your home feels. Keep an eye out for shifts in places you were stuck, for new opportunities that pop up, for connections with new people and most of all any new desires, journeys, and paths that unfold.

Good luck everyone! I can’t wait to hear what has shifted for you. Please share your stories! xo